Friday December 27
Letting His Light Shine Through You
Luke 8:40-48
40 So it was, when Jesus returned, that the multitude welcomed Him, for they were all waiting for Him. 41 And behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue. And he fell down at Jesus' feet and begged Him to come to his house, 42 for he had an only daughter about twelve years of age, and she was dying. But as He went, the multitudes thronged Him. 43 Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any, 44 came from behind and touched the border of His garment. And immediately her flow of blood stopped. 45 And Jesus said, "Who touched Me?" When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, "Master, the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?' " 46 But Jesus said, "Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me." 47 Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately. 48 And He said to her, "Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in peace."
Before we finish our study and thoughts on Luke 8, I want us to go back to verse 16, where after Jesus shared the parable of the Sower, the Seed and the Soil, He makes this statement: "No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed, but sets it on a lampstand, that those who enter may see the light.” And then in the rest of this chapter, He proceeded to manifest that light on a stormy sea, delivering a demon possessed man, healing a poor hopeless woman, and bringing a 12-year-old girl back to life! Today, I want to talk about letting the Light of Jesus Christ shine through you!
First let’s remember that Jesus has just taken the time out of His busy schedule to travel across the Sea of Galilee to bring hope and salvation to one poor lost demon possessed sinner. There is no place on planet Earth, there is not anyone who is too far away for Jesus to love and care for and touch. But they must come in contact with Jesus, with His love, and with His Person. And it is only through believers today that this can happen.
Today, Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven. But remember that in John 14:12, Jesus said to His disciples, "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.” How is that possible? When Jesus was on Earth, He could only be in one place at one time physically. If He was in Bethlehem, He couldn’t be in Jerusalem. If He was in Nazareth, He couldn’t be in Bethany. He could only be in one place at one time. If He was in Gadara healing a demon possessed man, He couldn’t be in Capernaum helping and healing people there.
But today, while Jesus is seated in heaven, He lives in every believer (Colossians 1:27)! This means that wherever a believer is, there can be manifest the presence and power of Jesus Christ. That is why when I walk through my neighborhood or I’m walking down the dirt streets in a village in a foreign country, I’m praying continuously for everyone in every house or hut. In my neighborhood, I’ve learned and memorized the names of almost all my immediate neighbors, and I am praying for them by name. I’m asking the Lord to meet their needs and that God’s grace, and His wisdom will be upon them, and if they need salvation, their eyes will be open to Who Jesus is. Not a religion, but a Savior Who they can have a relationship with in an intimate and personal way! Wherever you are, you are the Light of the world! We should not hide it under a basket or a bed but put it on a lampstand so that everyone in that house can see because of that Light and be guided by that Light and not be stumbling around in the darkness.
You and I carry the only hope they have, as Jesus, the Light of the world shines in us and through us! How do they see this Light? It is when we have been knocked down and we are hurting as we go through a difficult time, when everything falls out from underneath us, instead of griping and complaining and blaming everybody, but we respond with His peace and joy and confidence that despite the pain everything will work together for good! We admit that it is hard and difficult, but we are sure that His grace is sufficient, and we will make it through! And then when they ask us how we can have this peace, we can testify and tell them about Jesus Who is with us in the storm! And they see the manifestation of Jesus in our life! (2 Corinthians 4).
Just this week on Christmas Eve, one of my dearest friends, Elaine Brugh, went to be with the Lord. I was able to pray with her and her children over the phone just before she passed. Even over the phone, 300 miles away I could sense the presence of the Lord as I heard her sweet voice say very weakly, “Thank you”. Yesterday I was able to minister to her husband, Henry, who is in deep sorrow over saying an earthly good-bye to his precious wife of 65 years. I’ll never forget what he said as we talked about her life and passing. He said, the greatest joy in his and her life together was bringing precious souls to Jesus!
Elaine’s Light of Jesus in her life continues to shine around us in so many ways to lead others in the right path to Jesus! She is definitely a part the “greater works” Jesus spoke about! How is His Light shining in your life today?
God bless!
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